Occasionally a user may seek a translation for or a definition of a content item that the user is consuming—for example, text that a user is viewing, or speech that a user is hearing. For example, a user may seek a translation for or a definition of a word or phrase that is on a menu where the user is dining, a word or phrase in a technical document at a conference that the user is attending, or a word or phrase that the user hears being uttered (e.g., by a person in the user's vicinity or via a media broadcast).
In these cases, to request the translation or definition, the user may access an application executing on a mobile device of the user. For example, the user may access a web browser application executing on a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone® or Android® device) or a laptop computer and navigate to a website that is configured to provide translations or definitions. Or the user may start another application on the device (e.g., a native application) that is configured to provide translations or definitions. After inputting the word or phrase, the user may then receive the translation or definition.
This process of retrieving translations or definitions may be cumbersome to the user. Furthermore, the translations or definitions may depend on the user's accuracy in inputting the word or phrase that is to be translated.